For Authors
As an Oxford University Press (OUP) author, you are contributing to a global effort that encourages the dissemination and accessibility of trusted, digital reference content. You play an essential role in expanding and updating this important resource as it continues to grow over time.
This page contains information about the collection you are writing for, your benefits and resources as an Oxford Reference author, and ways to spread the word (‘Get Involved’). Your OUP editor will also be happy to answer any questions you have.
If you have questions about subscriptions, please visit the how to subscribe page or to purchase print titles, please visit the OUP website, and don’t forget your author discount.
Jump to:
Information for Quick Reference authors
Information for Reference Library authors
Stay up-to-date
Access for authors
Discoverability
Author writing guidelines
Why publish with Oxford Reference
Get involved
Information for Quick Reference authors
If your title is one of OUP’s Quick Reference dictionaries (formerly known as Oxford Paperback Reference in print), then you are a Quick Reference author. Below are some examples of recent titles, or you can browse the whole collection online:
Find out more about the Quick Reference collection >
New titles and editions are added to Oxford Reference throughout the year, which includes books that are only available online. Find out how you can keep up-to-date.
Updating Your Quick Reference Content
Your entries represent a reliable and trustworthy source in your area of study, and we encourage you to submit minor updates and corrections to your work so that it remains accurate and useful. We also have in place our own updating programme here at OUP, which means you may be sent suggested changes and corrections to your entries for approval from time to time.
For information on reusing your article material, please email your editor or visit the permissions section of the OUP website.
When can I send in corrections or updates to existing entries?
You can send suggested updates and corrections to us at any time via our assistant editor Jo Spillane at jo.spillane@oup.com.
What type of changes can I make?
Your suggested changes may include:
addition of death dates
correction of typos
correction of factual errors
updates to web links
corrections to cross-references
essential revisions to existing entries (e.g. to reflect major world events)
Your changes should not include:
revisions to illustrations and images (unless they are factually incorrect)
rewrites of whole entries
new entries (unless essential)
Will I be asked to submit corrections and updates?
At certain times we may contact you to request your approval of proposed corrections or to see if you have any suggested corrections and updates of your own.
Approving changes suggested by us
We may ask you to approve simple corrections that we would like to make to your entries. These will often be the addition of death dates and occasionally, proposed revisions to your entries that reflect recent major changes in the world.
Approving changes that have come via other authors’ corrections to their own work
Occasionally the updates and revisions made by other authors to their own work may relate to subjects covered in your entries. If this is the case, we will get in touch with you to share these revisions and to suggest possible updates to your work for your approval.
Information for Reference Library authors
If your title is one of Oxford University Press’s in-depth Encyclopedias or Companions, then you are a Reference Library author. Below are some examples of recent titles, or you can browse the whole collection online:
The Reference Library collection features some of OUP’s best known and most loved reference titles, relied on by scholars for a lifetime of research. In many cases, these titles have established the definitive word on the subject.
Find out more about the Reference Library collection >
New titles and editions are added to Oxford Reference throughout the year, which includes books that are only available online. Find out how you can keep up-to-date.
Why does my title appear differently on Oxford Reference than it does in print?
Based on the digital structure of Oxford Reference, some features may be positioned differently than they appear in print. In all cases, appendices, introductions, forewords, etc. will all be present online, categorized under Front Matter or End Matter. Additionally, inclusion of images and graphics may be subject to permissions and availability. Please contact us at jo.spillane@oup.com if you have additional questions about images within your work.
When are Reference Library titles released online?
Typically, they publish online in the same month as the print. Some titles are more complex and take more time to transition into an online format (due to symbols, graphics, wealth of entries, etc.).
When a new edition is added on Reference Library, what happens to the previous editions?
All editions of Reference Library titles are available on Oxford Reference—no titles are ever removed.
Access for authors
As an author of Oxford Reference content, you are contributing to the premier reference resource for Oxford University Press and its partners. This is an opportunity to participate in a scholarly project endorsed by academics, librarians, and researchers worldwide.
As an Oxford Reference author we would like to offer you 3 months’ free online access. If you have not yet taken advantage of this offer, please email oxfordreference@oup.com with your name, title, and institution (if applicable), and we will arrange for your personal access to commence.
Discoverability
Our digital management teams work to make it as easy as possible for researchers to find Oxford Reference.
Check out these key features to expand your research with Oxford Reference, find tools to refine your search, and discover ways to customize your experience of the site.
Intelligent Linking
Our thorough linking program links together related entries from all the titles on Oxford Reference, creating journeys between entries on the same topic. These links are curated and checked by reference editors. We want to create an enjoyable and intelligent user experience, and ensure that users are guided to your content.
Developing Countries Initiative
As a mission-led, university press publisher, OUP strives for maximum impact and dissemination worldwide, with fair and sustainable pricing according to prevailing market conditions. Find out more about this initiative.
Author writing guidelines
Whether your work was commissioned as part of a print volume or for exclusive online publication, please follow the author guidelines sent by your OUP editor. If you have any questions about anything included within or if you need these resent to you, please don’t hesitate to contact your OUP editor.
The purpose of these instructions is to clarify your responsibilities as an author. Please read and follow them carefully. Doing so will ensure that the publication of your work is as rapid and efficient as possible. The Publisher reserves the right to return manuscripts that are not prepared in accordance with these instructions.
Work submitted for publication must be original, previously unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Why publish with Oxford Reference?
If you are interested in publishing with OUP please contact us. Oxford Reference will enable you to:
Create the standard reference work in your field: you’ll have the unique opportunity to define your subject area—to provide explanations of terms that will be instantly trusted and used by researchers at every level, worldwide.
Have global impact: your work will be far-reaching, as Oxford Reference is accessed by thousands of users and institutions from across the world, in more than fifty countries.
Get noticed on the open web: our easily discoverable content means that search engines, like Google, can direct researchers from the open web in to your work. Oxford Reference articles are also widely cited, as evidenced on Google Scholar.
Build your professional profile: getting published on Oxford Reference will allow you to develop your professional profile and promote your work through a new, discoverable channel, offering opportunities to increase visibility of your work, perspective, and voice.
Join our community of experts: you’ll be joining a team of experts—hundreds of authors and thousands of contributors—including some of the world’s leading scholars in their field.
Direct others to your work: online articles are easier to share than those in print, enabling you to better communicate and connect with your network of colleagues, librarians at affiliated institutions, and scholarly communities.
Holistic marketing and promotional approach: the marketing team at OUP is made up of over 200 marketing and publicity staff based in many locations across the world. We reach the broadest range of academic and professional markets possible, through our specialist, dedicated teams.
Writing an article for the OUPblog can help to build awareness of your work, and can be a useful way of reinvigorating interest after publication. If you haven't already written a blog post, and you are interested in writing one, then please email oxfordreference@oup.com.
You can also submit a Q&A for our subject homepages by emailing oxfordreference@oup.com. You can see a sample interview on the History page.
Get involved
Your involvement shapes the future and influence of Oxford Reference. Consider trying the below tips to spread the word or contribute to OUP's global channels. For information on author free access, or any other benefits, please contact oxfordreference@oup.com.
Update: talk to your editor about the ways to keep your work up-to-date and optimized for the open web.
Recommend: recommend the Oxford Reference resource, or specific online titles, to your institutional or public librarian using our online form.
Connect: the more links there are to your online work means there are more ways for researchers to find it. Add links to your CV or personal/institutional webpage.
Share: link to your work on academic message boards, or on online networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter. You can also connect with us via our Social Media channels.
Meet: stop by the OUP booth at your next conference to connect with OUP editors and specialists.